March 2013
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 18, No. 3
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, March 3rd, 2013
Officers:
Newsletter/Articles
Jeff Mason, jeffrey_mason@me.com
Meeting Coordinator/Critique scoring/CFMA Liason
Matthew Campbell, matthew_sax77@yahoo.com
Membership/Certificates/Contact
Susan Foster-Trewick, susiecool2001@yahoo.com
407-760-2153
E-mail Contact, isgorlando@gmail.com
Website
Carlos Colon, videosaysitall.fl@gmail.com
352-267-5911
Treasurer/NSAI Liason
Asli Goncer, asli@cfl.rr.com
Secretary
Jacquelyn Gould, songsuite@gmail.com
The International Songwriter’s Guild meets at 5 PM on the first Sunday of every month at the
Central Florida Musician’s Union building, 3020 East Robinson (at the extreme east end of
Robinson, near Orlando Executive Airport ) in Orlando.
Songwriters, composers, performers, publishers, and the curious are encouraged to join us.
Non-members are invited to attend a meeting or two to get a feel for our group and what we
do. For more information, visit our website at www.isgorlando.org or myspace page at
http://www.myspace.com/internationalsongwritersguildorlando
The meetings will be structured as follows: 5:00 to 5:30, business and introductions. 5:30
to 6:00, presentation by a guest speaker (when scheduled), 5:30 or 6:00 to 8:00, song
critiques. Please bring a CD or mp3 player or perform your song live, and bring 10 or more
lyric sheets.
If we have at least 5 songs by members who wish to be scored, and 6 members scoring, then we
will have them entered in the Monthly competition. Everyone is encouraged to write
constructive comments on the lyric sheets.
Becoming Productive
By Jeff Mason
I have been trying to write more songs lately. I’ve never been prolific and
it seems to be a hill that I must climb to achieve my goals. I have come to believe that one
must write many mediocre songs to get one gem of a song. For example, Cole Porter wrote a
thousand songs, but only about a hundred are remembered. That’s 10% and is probably about
average. I’ve been studying the work of several songwriters and the most successful appear
to adhere to these assertions.
I took a trip to Tampa to watch Richard Thompson in concert, and I found him
to be very enjoyable and inspiring. His new album is titled Electric and was recorded in
Nashville at the home of producer and guitarist Buddy Miller. The album consists of eleven
strong original songs, but also includes seven bonus tracks. All the songs were recorded at
the same sessions which stretched out over four days. I don’t think the seven bonus tracks
are as strong as the other eleven and that is to be expected.
Thompson said that he sometimes has as many as forty songs in the process of being written.
Bruce Springsteen is another prolific writer and a recent documentary titled The
Promise: The Making of the Darkness on the Edge of Town informs us about his creative
process. In 1976, Bruce became entangled in a legal battle with his friend and manager Mike
Appel and was unable to go into the studio and record. Part of his creative process was a
spiral notebook containing song lyrics, alternative lyrics, set lists and scribbled notes.
He had approximately seventy songs ready when he was finally able to go into the studio and
record. Many of these songs were rejected because they strayed from his ideas for his next
album Darkness on The Edge Of Town. Springsteen was in the midst of a songwriting explosion.
In 2010 a box set reissue titled The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge Of Town was
released. It is a six disc set and contains an 80 page spiral-bound reproduction of
Springsteen’s original notebooks. It contains three CDs and three DVDs. These are made up of
a remastered version of the Darkness on the Edge of Town album, the aforementioned
documentary, a new double CD, The Promise, containing 21 previously unreleased out-takes
from the Darkness sessions and two DVDs of live performances. It is an impressive piece of
packaging. Some of Springsteen’s spiral notebooks have been placed on display at The Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
I came across an interesting thread at
http://ask.metafilter.com/95026/How-do-home-musicians-keep-organizedproductive
It was from June 2008 and a struggling songwriter asked the following question: “How do
home musicians keep organized and productive?” The songwriter went on to lament that he had
a hard drive full of half finished songs and ideas and that he felt a sense of worthlessness
because of his inability to finish anything. There were twelve answers to his question and
they were all insightful and encouraging. One person referred to his hard drive of
unfinished songs and ideas as a “song mine.”
The answer that I found the most helpful came from a musician who described his
own process and referred to the RPM Challenge. This is a creative challenge offered annually
to musicians and has been going since 2006. Here is the challenge: record 10 songs or 35
minutes of original material during February and submit it to http://rpmchallenge.com/
I can’t think of a better motivation to kick-start my songwriting up a gear,
though it’s a bit late for this year! See you next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Videography and website management services at a price you CAN AFFORD. Capturing your
wedding or event on video may not be in your budget but you’re hoping that you may have
something left over to hire a videographer. I will fit your budget. My goal is to offer my
services to those who otherwise would have to pass because of funds. This is your special
day and you most definitely want to capture those moments. Visit my website at
http://www.videosaysitall.com . Thanks and call me anytime (352-267-5911)…Carlos Colon
Meeting space graciously provided by Central Florida Musicians Association, Local 389. You
are invited to join the largest union in the world, representing the interests of the
professional musician. Visit their website at afm389.org for more information. You may
reach them by phone at: 407-894-8666.
We’re always looking for material for the newsletter. If you have any information that you
would like to see added to the newsletter, please see Jeff Mason at the meetings or email
him at jeffrey_mason@me.com . Please keep your articles brief and to the point. Print
deadline for the newsletter is approximately two weeks prior to the monthly meeting.
Classified advertising may be placed free of charge to members in good standing with the
ISG. For more information on display advertising and/or classified advertising for
non-members, please contact Jeff by the print deadline (usually the Friday 16 days prior to
the monthly meeting); email is best ( jeffrey_mason@me.com ).
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Open Mic Night hosted by Matthew "Sax" Campbell
Thursdays, 7-10pm, sign-up starts at 6:45
Quokka Coffee
131 Broadway Ave. (corner of Broadway & Monument)
Kissimmee, FL 34741
free music
Organic fair trade coffee, beer, wine, sandwiches, salads, and pastries with specials
Full P.A. and 6 string acoustic guitar provided
family-friendly atmosphere
Rain or shine
Matthew
Jeff Mason's Music schedule
Thurs Feb 17th,
O'Keefe's Irish Pub and Restaurant,
115 S. Rockingham Ave,
Tavares, Fl, 32778,
352 343 2157
From 6pm till...
St Paddy's Day Sun March 17th,
O'Keefe's Irish Pub and Restaurant,
115 S. Rockingham Ave,
Tavares, Fl, 32778,
352 343 2157
From noon to 9 p.m
Current members please send us your website info if you would like your site to be listed in
the ISG members page. Also if you have any songs that have placed first in the monthly
critiques, please send the mp3's to isgorlando@gmail.com if you would like to have them
featured in the ISG MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/internationalsongwritersguildorlando
Past Certificate winners can be found at
https://sites.google.com/site/isgsusiecool/home/resultslist-2
February 2013 Critique Results
Here are the top 5:
1. Ordinary Girl - Melanie Fisher
2. She's Disappeared Into His Eyes - Jeff Mason
3. What Did You Do Last Night - Will Campbell
4. Heat Under the Hood - Kristen Bruno
5. I Ain't Got Time to Fall in Love Today - Will Campbell
New members always welcome!
© 2013 ISG